How foreign capital enters India, and the trade agreements and infrastructure policy shaping India's external commerce.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) involves a lasting management interest — building factories, acquiring significant equity stakes — and enters India via the automatic route (no prior approval, most sectors) or the government route (approval needed, sensitive sectors like defence/media beyond certain limits). Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) is more liquid, passive investment in stocks/bonds without management control, regulated by SEBI and more volatile as it can exit quickly.
India is a founding member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which governs global trade rules and disputes; India has been active in WTO negotiations on agriculture subsidies (public stockholding for food security) and e-commerce. Alongside multilateral WTO engagement, India negotiates bilateral/regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) — such as with UAE, Australia, and the EU-India talks — to reduce tariffs and boost trade with specific partners.
PM Gati Shakti (launched 2021) is a National Master Plan integrating infrastructure planning across 16+ ministries — roads, railways, ports, and logistics parks — on a common digital platform to cut logistics costs and delivery times, directly supporting export competitiveness and industrial corridor development.
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